


the best teachers are the ones who don't even know they're teaching

by inlovewithimpossibility



Series: Snapshots [11]
Category: Arrow (TV 2012)
Genre: F/M, Post-Episode: s06e07 Thanksgiving
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-02
Updated: 2018-09-02
Packaged: 2019-07-05 21:57:24
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,177
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15872508
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/inlovewithimpossibility/pseuds/inlovewithimpossibility
Summary: He thinks about what he knows about love, which is not a lot and yet a multitude at his young age, and wonders when his view of it expanded from big romantic gestures like he sees on TV to small moments like the one right in front of him. He doesn’t know when it happened, but he knows it’s down to his dad and Felicity and he thinks about how glad he is to have them both and how he’s looking forward to what else they can teach him.Set between 6x07 and 6x08, Felicity worries about traumatizing William, Oliver just wants to make his girlfriend's worst week of the month a little better, and William learns a little bit more





	the best teachers are the ones who don't even know they're teaching

**Author's Note:**

> 'Snapshots' is a series detailing missing or AU moments from Arrow so let me know any prompts you have in the comments or at my tumblr (girlsthatwewannakiss.tumblr.com)

“Don’t they _ever_ leave you alone? What’s so exciting about the mayor doing his grocery shopping?” William grumbles as they step into the supermarket, just having escaped the small crowd of paparazzi outside.

“Maybe they need a recommendation for low-fat mayo?” Oliver quips and William raises an eyebrow and scoffs a little.

“Fliss is rubbing off on you,” William comments and pulls a shopping list from his pocket. Oliver notes in his head that his girlfriend is rubbing off on his son as well, this sort of organization is very un-William like.

They get the shopping mostly done pretty quickly. William’s list is very efficient, and it makes Oliver laugh the way he’s so demanding from behind the cart. He simply points at things on the shelf, declaring the name of the item and apparently, it’s up to Oliver to place it in the cart.

His phone rings loudly just as they round the corner into the frozen aisle and Oliver frowns, pulling it out to see Felicity’s name and picture on the screen. He updated it recently and he smiles at the image of Felicity and William on the couch in his apartment, holding Big Belly Burger bags in victory after they convinced him to abandon his thought of a healthy dinner a few weeks back.

“Hi, honey.” He answers and William frowns, looking over to see the phone before smiling and rolling his eyes a little. Oliver smiles back at him but frowns as Felicity begins to talk.

“Oliver hi! Are you still at the store? Please tell me you’re still at the store. Oh, frack, William’s with you, isn’t he? I don’t want to mortify him! Oh no, I’m going to traumatize him!” She rambles and Oliver frowns, having completely lost her train of thought.

“Felicity, sweetheart, I’m going to need some more context here.” He tells her and William laughs, not even having to have heard Felicity to know that she was rambling and not making any sense. “What do you need?”

“Tampons.” She states and he can practically hear the wince in her voice. “But I forgot William was with you and it’s fine, I’ll just see if I can borrow one from Dinah or someone and then I’ll get some later on. Really, don’t worry about it.”

“Hey, hey, it’s okay. I’ll get them, William knows how the female body works.” He states and chuckles a little as William’s nose scrunches.

“Oh gross.” He states and heads a little further down the aisle towards the ice cream.

“Are you sure?” Felicity asks, her voice soft and vulnerable and Oliver smiles, able to picture her exact expression.

“I’m sure. Come straight to ours after work, I’ll run you a bath and grab some wine, okay?” He tells her and hears her sigh, knowing she’s biting her lip.

“Chocolate too?” She asks and he chuckles, shaking his head at how well this woman has him wrapped around her finger.

“Chocolate too.” He assures her and nods at William when he holds up a pint of mint chip questioningly.

“Best boyfriend ever.” Felicity sighs happily and he chuckles, heading closer to William.

“I’ll see you later. I love you.” He tells her and William smiles up at him.

“I love you too,” Felicity replies and they bid each other goodbye before hanging up, Oliver sliding his phone into his back pocket.

“Should I grab another pint of mint chip?” William asks and Oliver chuckles, shaking his head in amusement.

“Probably a good idea buddy.” He tells him and William smirks cheekily, adding another pint of both mint chip and rocky road to the cart. “I’ll pretend I didn’t see that. Come on, we’ve got a few more things to grab.”

“I never get chocolate.” William groans as they head down the confectionary aisle.

“Next time you get a period, I’ll get you chocolate.” Oliver quips and William glares at him, reaching for the bar of Dove. “No, not that one.”

“It’s her favorite!” William counters and Oliver smiles, reaching for the largest bar of dark chocolate.

“Dairy’s an inflammatory buddy and the sugar they pump into that stuff counteracts all the things that are actually kind of good for you in chocolate.” He explains and William looks at him with a raised eyebrow.

“You think Felicity’s gonna care about that?” He asks and Oliver rolls his eyes.

“She’s not a completely different person this week, William. Not everything TV shows tell you is true.” Oliver smirks and turns to walk away. With his back turned, he doesn’t notice William slipping the smaller bar of Dove into the cart as well.

William blushes as they head down the ‘feminine hygiene’ aisle, mumbling about what a dumb name that is for it and it makes Oliver laugh. They attract the attention of a young girl, who blushes at the sight of them and grabs what she needs before rushing off, and a man who looks to be middle-aged, staring rather helplessly at the display.

“Oh, Mayor Queen!” He states at the sight of him and Oliver smiles, reaching up and grabbing Felicity’s box of choice from the display.

“Wife or daughter?” Oliver asks, looking at the confused expression on the man’s face.

“Oh my god, Dad!” William whispers, turning to pretend to look at the display of baby food behind them which makes Oliver chuckle at his aversion.

“Oh, daughter. My wife’s out of town and my daughter’s locked herself in her room.” The man groans and Oliver laughs, turning to the shelf.

“How old is she?” He asks and William groans a little more, mortified at his dad questioning the man like this. He only flushes deeper when a middle-aged woman makes her way down the aisle.

“Thirteen.” The man answers and Oliver plucks a box off of the shelf, handing it to the man.

“Chocolate’s on aisle 18.” He winks and the man laughs, shaking his hand.

“Thank you, Mayor Queen.” He smiles and leaves the aisle. William goes to ask if they can leave now when the woman speaks up.

“Mayor Queen, I didn’t think I’d run into you in the feminine hygiene aisle of all places.” She laughs and Oliver does too, shaking his head.

“Well, my being mayor doesn’t excuse my girlfriend from mother nature, unfortunately.” He charms and William swears he’s ready to sink into the floor.

“Oh my god, Dad!” He facepalms and Oliver laughs along with the woman he’s speaking to.

“Please excuse me, before my son sinks into the floor.” He laughs and directs William towards the checkouts.

“You didn’t have to talk to people!” William exclaims and Oliver chuckles, ruffling his hair.

“It’s a totally natural thing bud, there’s nothing to be embarrassed about.” He tells him and William huffs.

“I’m not embarrassed about it! I’m embarrassed about _you_ giving advice to people about their daughters’ time of the month.” William explains and Oliver still just chuckles, loading everything onto the conveyor belt.

“And why isn’t something we can discuss? It’s something that happens to around half of the population every single month.” Oliver raises his eyebrows and William rolls his eyes.

“It’s weird Dad.” He explains and Oliver shakes his head, deciding not to argue too much. They’re still caught up in conversation that the two of them don’t notice the paparazzi taking pictures of the items in the tops of their bags as they walk to the car.

 

* * *

 

 

Felicity is sat on the couch when they get back, dressed in sweats and one of Oliver’s old college sweatshirts. She’s leaning against the side of the couch, a pillow in her lap as she scrolls through her phone.

Oliver chuckles at the discarded heels by the door and her purse haphazardly thrown on the coffee table. He knows when he walks into his, _their,_ room, he’ll find a hurricane of her clothes from today and others from the drawer as she searched for what she was looking for.

“Hey, baby.” He greets with a smile, placing the bags on the island before he walks back over to her. She smiles weakly up at him and he leans down to kiss her sweetly, peppering a few kisses on her forehead as he pulls away.

“Hi. Hi, William.” She greets a little weakly and William smiles at her, placing the bags he was carrying on the island as well.

“Hi Fliss, how’re you feeling?” He asks a little wearily and Felicity laughs a little, standing up and walking over to him.

“I’m fine, sweet boy. Nothing I haven’t handled before.” She kisses his forehead and William smiles a little, pulling the bar of Dove out of the bag.

“Dad was going on about dairy being an inflammatory so he got you dark chocolate but I snuck this in when he wasn’t looking.” He smiles proudly, handing it over and Felicity laughs, taking it and kissing his forehead again.

“Thanks, kiddo. Glad someone’s got my back.” She winks and Oliver gasps loudly, pretending to be offended.

“Excuse me, who got you wine and ice cream and paid for that chocolate? Which I did see, by the way.” Oliver raises an eyebrow at William who laughs, going to put the ice cream in the freezer.

“Yeah, and he practically started an advice booth in the tampon aisle.” William snorts and Felicity frowns, turning to look at her boyfriend.

“There was a dad there whose wife was out of town.” He explains and Felicity smiles, nodding a little.

They move together quickly, having fallen into a rhythm pretty quickly since Felicity’s been around a lot more. The groceries find their way into cupboards and the fridge and Felicity and William crash back onto the sofa, the former groaning a little.

“I’m gonna go run that bath for you,” Oliver tells her and leans down to kiss her hair as he passes, ruffling William’s and laughing at his protests as well. Felicity smiles after him and tugs the blanket off of the back of the sofa, pulling it around her shoulders.

“Today wasn’t like traumatizing for you, right?” She asks him, looking at him a little nervously and William laughs.

“Nah, Dad was embarrassing. He really did _not_ need to talk to people. But he’s right about the whole it being natural thing. Plus, once you’ve had Damien Darhk and Adrian Chase kidnap you, periods kinda seem like a walk in the park.” William smirks and Felicity laughs, cuddling into the blanket a little more.

“I’m just warning you, he’s totally gonna make us eat spinach tonight.” She tells him and William frowns, pulling a face.

“Ugh, why?”

“Because he’s ridiculously attentive. You know, most boyfriends just buy their girlfriends chocolate and are done with it but your dad did his research and decided that iron-rich foods are the most effective way of targeting cramps. He did it when we weren’t together too, he’d leave food in the fridge of the loft for me.” Felicity chuckles, thinking of how startled she’d been when she first saw it and the note he’d left.

“That’s actually kind of sweet. Even if it does involve spinach.” William shudders and Felicity laughs, leaning her head on the back of the couch.

“Your dad is sweet, but we let him pretend he’s not a big softy on the inside.” She winks and William laughs, leaning his head on the back of the couch too.

“I’m really glad you’re around more, even if it does mean talking about periods,” William tells her honestly and Felicity laughs, smiling at him.

“I’m glad I’m around more too buddy, and not just because of your dad.” She smiles and he nods.

“Felicity?” Oliver’s voice is soft and they both turn their head to see him leaning against the door to his room, trying to hide his tears at the scene in front of him. “Bath’s ready.”

“You’re my hero.” She smiles and dances over to him, standing on her toes to press her lips softly against his.

“Still making spinach.” He tells her and she chuckles, pressing a soft kiss to his jaw as she lowers her heels to the ground.

Later, once dinner is finished and cleared, William watches as his dad drapes a heavy blanket over Felicity’s shoulders, drawing her into his chest as they both sit down on the couch. He notices the way his dad’s hand immediately drops to rub circles onto her stomach and how Felicity rubs similar circles where her hand rests on his arm. He thinks about what he knows about love, which is not a lot and yet a multitude at his young age, and wonders when his view of it expanded from big romantic gestures like he sees on TV to small moments like the one right in front of him. He doesn’t know when it happened, but he knows it’s down to his dad and Felicity and he thinks about how glad he is to have them both and how he’s looking forward to what else they can teach him.


End file.
